The semi-permanent paralysis of the arms, hands and wrists evident in computer programmers who eschew use of the mouse in favor of shortcutkey combinations. The condition is recognizable by the frozen position of one's arms bent inwards, wrists bent outwards and fingers snarled into a useless tangle of digits.

Due to the frequent accompaniment of Programmer Palsy with Keyboard Hunch, sufferers of this disease risk being misidentified as "throwing gang symbols" when walking in unfamiliar neighborhoods.